Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I went to the small town of Wolfenbüttel last weekend to attend a seminar on Creative Writing. It was very instructive and intense. Combined with the flue that plagues me since January, I felt very light headed upon return.

And then, spring struck ... and with it an idea.

I thought, what if I use the flexibility of the Internet-language HTML to create a true non-linear story. My Muse already fed me quite a lot of interesting scenarios. I would like to write a Fairy-Tale Murder Mystery. Would you be interested? I don't know yet how I'm going to publish it. The only thing that's for sure is that traditional publishing doesn't really work. I remember those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, but even if I liked the story, the flipping of pages and 2nd person POV ruined the fun. So I will use hyperlinks (which means it's going to be some sort of e-book) and 1st person POV (since I don't know if the reader is male or female). I have already filled 5 pages in my notebook.

Since I'm still in the planning stages, I accept suggestions. Anything you're particularly interested in? Something that you think might fit into a crazy project like that? Any favorite fairly tales? Feel free to leave me a comment with your suggestions and/or ideas. I might not manage to get it all into the one story but I'll definitely consider.

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm glad you're all still there. I have to confess that I'm not really good at a regular Blog schedule. Currently, I am revising "Terry and the Folding Rule of Time", write the missing chapters of "The 33 Worst Mistakes ... about Germany" and try to add the last few chapters to my NaNo-novel. Often, I get sucked into writing so deeply that I forget the time, and when I look up, my kids are back from school. From then on, I'm hardly anywhere near my PC for the rest of the day. There is food to cook, laundry to fold, floors to clean and other necessary but unwelcome stuff. As much as I would like to post more regularly, it is impossible at the moment.

I will do my very best to keep you informed. Maybe, I'll manage one post a week, I'll do my very best. If you've got questions you think I might be able to answer, please let me know in the comments.

Oh, one final writing related note: my free online Fantasy Novel "The Witches of Greenwitch" will post it's last chapter tomorrow, and Eszti has managed to catch up with her art. Check it out if you don't know it already. Also, please tell your Fantasy loving friends about it. It's free - no hooks attached.

Friends

About Me

Katharina Gerlach was born in Germany in 1968. She and her three
younger brothers grew up in the middle of a forest in the heart of the
Luneburgian Heather. After romping through the forest with imagination
as her guide, the tomboy learned to read and disappeared into magical
adventures, past times or eerie fairytale woods.

She didn’t stop at reading. During her training as a landscape
gardener, she wrote her first novel, a manuscript full of a beginner’s
mistakes. Fortunately, she found books on Creative Writing and soon her
stories improved. For a while, reality interfered with her writing but
after finishing a degree in forestry and a PhD in Science she returned
to her vocation. She likes to write Fantasy, Science Fiction and
Historical Novels for all age groups.

At present, she is writing at her next project in a small house near
Hildesheim, Germany, where she lives with her husband, three children
and a dog. Katharina Gerlach has had various short stories published in
Germany as well as a non-fiction e-book in US-Fantasy author Holly
Lisle’s “The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About …” series.